Hop On Prague's New Love Train To Find A Date

The city is planning to introduce cars for single people, in an attempt to get their young people having babies.

Prague has one of the most heavily used public transport systems on the planet; most local commuters use the system four times a day. At the same time, fewer women in the Czech Republic are having children, and the marriage rate in the country has dropped dramatically since 1970. Clearly, a love train is needed to make things right.

Ropid, a local transport company in Prague, is launching a real-life "love train" where single commuters can have awkward conversations away from the judging eyes and ears of regular commuters. From the International Business Times:

"People today have no place to meet. Maybe somewhere at parties, or at work. In the metro you can already read and learn, so why not find a partner?" said Filip Drapal, spokesman for Ropid.

"We want to make life more pleasant. People today have no time to meet.

The Love Train launches later this year, but Ropid is reportedly fine-tuning the details, like how many trains to include, which train cars are most appropriate, and what types of signs to display. That last detail is particularly important—no one wants to accidentally end up in the cruising car (just imagine how creeped out all the confused tourists would be).

Prague residents feel mixed about the Love Train. IB Times reports:

Tyden’s readers seem divided in the idea of the "love train"; a little over half (54 percent) of those who replied to a survey said it is a "great idea"; while 43 percent derided it as "utter nonsense."

The Metro newspaper actually asked some real live Czech commuters what they thought:

Petr Voracek said: ‘When I’m in a rush, I enter the first open door I see. I should watch out now and make sure no one starts seducing me.’

Another commuter Karolina Vranova, added: ‘As a notorious Metro catcher I’m afraid I might become the butt of gossip.’

‘What if someone sees me in the carriage and tells my boyfriend?’

It’s a silly idea, but if it gets more people out of their cars and into trains, why not?

Ariel Schwartz is a Senior Editor at Co.Exist. She has contributed to SF Weekly, Popular Science, Inhabitat, Greenbiz, NBC Bay Area, GOOD Magazine and more. For story ideas: ariel[at]fastcompany.com Continued